Danganronpa: Tales from the West
by Toxinsomnia
Summary: Description: Danganronpa? Wild west AU? Wacky high jinks? What could go wrong? Based solely on one time that my friend accidentally gave Gundham a country accent. So you can thank him for this masterpiece.


Chapter 1

Hope spring was usually a peaceful town, if not a little on the smaller side. The settlement was nestled in a valley, with a natural well nearby. It was a day's ride from another, bigger, town with a train depot, which supplied them with the goods they needed and wanted. A mining colony was a two day's ride up a nearby mountain, and was the source of the area's main exports: coal, and the occasional bit of gold.

The little town did not see much trouble. That is why the sudden influx of criminal activity caught much of the town off guard. This was lucky for Gundham. He was able to quickly secure a job assisting the town deputy. And he was quickly promoted to sheriff after he captured the notorious criminal Sonia Nevermind. Known as the Plundering Princess, she mercilessly robbed banks, stores, and anything worth any money. She would use her charm and good looks to avoid trouble and repercussions. Or so the rumors went.

Maybe the stars were aligned just right, or maybe it was some kind of miracle, but Gundham had managed to corner her in a room on the third floor of the the inn. After a brief scuffle, he had her pinned down and was shouting for assistance. Now, she was secured in a heavily guarded cell. The guilty verdict was quick and unanimous, and she was due to be executed at noon that day.

Gundham glanced at the church across the road. It would ring twelve soon. Or so he hoped. The minutes seemed to be crawling by. Whether this was because of nerves or excitement, it was difficult to tell. It seemed as if there was nothing left to do but wait. Through the doorway to his right, he could hear the captive whistling and drumming her fingers on the cell bars, seemingly unconcerned with her impending doom.

The church bell rang. It rang twelve times. Gundham stood up and entered the small prison. The guards already had Sonia cuffed and waiting. Gundham caught the slight figure of the town priest standing off in the shadows, shifting uncomfortably. Gundham ignored him, turning his attention to the small party waiting to be escorted. He nodded to the guards, who began shoving the outlaw along. He followed last, keeping an overall eye on things.

Sonia did not struggle. She did not cry, or break down, or beg for her life like Gundham had already seen many do in his short time in his position. She kept a prideful, carefree sort of attitude as she was marched to her death. Her chin was held high as she was paraded past the gathering townsfolk. He thought the title of "princess" was frighteningly fitting.

The stockade was a short walk out of town. The only sounds that accompanied them were the crunch of footsteps, the slight sigh of a hot breeze, and Sonia's continuous whistling. The gunmen were already lined up and waiting as they approached. Gundham fell back and stood next to the line of executioners. The escort secured Sonia to a small post, and backed away quickly.

"Sonia Nevermind," Gundham called, so that she could hear. "You have been found guilty of robbery and the murder of several innocent people. You have been sentenced to death. Do you have any last words?" She remained silent, except for her tuneless whistling. "Very well. Men, ready." The firing squad loaded their rifles. "Aim." They leveled their barrels at Sonia. "Fire."

At his command, the triggers were pulled in unison. An earsplittingly loud bang sounded through the air. A cloud of dust kicked up around the pole, spreading quickly through the area. The men lowered their guns, and waited for the dust to clear. Sonia was gone. Not dead, gone altogether. Alarm and confusion shot through Gundham. "What in the…" He ran towards the post, hoping to find some sort of clue as to what happened. All he saw were a bundle of rope, split through the middle, and a single silver bullet, resting at the base of the pole and gleaming in the afternoon sunlight. "Search the area," he commanded. "She couldn't have gone far!" The men scrambled off in different directions.

Gundham was furious. "How could she escape? There's no possible way," he muttered. He bent down to inspect the area more closely. There were no footprints, the explosion of dust had erased them, if they were ever there in the first place. He pounded a fist in the dirt. More than anything, frustration surged through him. He was so close. They were almost rid of her, but she had somehow managed to slip through their fingers once again.

The search went into the night, but turned up no results. In the end, it was pointless. In the end, it was pointless. Kyoko had told Gundham that she did not blame him, and that she thought the same would have happened even if she had been the one conducting the execution. "There's a good reason that woman's never been caught," she had said, "She's one of the cleverest criminals I've ever had the misfortune of dealing with." Nevertheless, Gundham was furious, both at Sonia and himself. Wanted posters were plastered all over town again. Every time he saw one, he was coldly reminded of his failure.

A few days passed uneventfully, with no sign of Sonia. Gundham was tired. He was tired of searching and tired of failing. He sat at his desk, staring out the window at a tomcat across the street. Kyoko tapped on Gundham's desk. "Have you been listening? Or is that stray cat too intriguing?" He tore his eyes away from the window.

"Sorry, you can imagine I have a lot on my mind," He said flatly, obviously unapologetic. Kyoko stepped away and stood blocking the window.

"I'll say it again. As you should know, the search for Sonia Nevermind has turned up nothing. It may be possible that she is no longer in the immediate area. However, I would like you to track her down."

"Track her down," he said incredulously, leaning forward in his chair. "She could be halfway across the country by now!"

"Something tells me that's not the case. She seems like she'd find some hideout and lay low. If she came here in the first place, she's here for a reason. And just as precautionary measures, I contacted the next town over. They've stepped up security at the train station, so she doesn't have an escape unless she steals a horse or something."

"And what if she has?"

"We haven't heard of any reports, have we? Therefore, she's still around here somewhere. And if anyone can do it, it's you. You've done it once, you can do it again."

"So you want me to find her while we have her stuck in the area?"

"Preferably, yes." Gundham sighed and leaned back. Kyoko said nothing more, letting her words hang heavy in the air between them.

"I will do my best but I can guarantee no results." Kyoko seemed satisfied with this, and moved to leave the room. She paused at the doorframe.

"I'm counting on you." Gundham was left to plan how he would catch a phantom. Again.

Over the next week, Gundham conducted searches, interrogated townsfolk, and kept a sharp eye out for any sign of his target. The eyes of the wanted posters followed him, mocking his lack of progress. It was a Thursday afternoon when she showed up. The sound of gunshots alerted Gundham to the commotion at the saloon.

By the time he arrived on the scene, she was already gone. She had left behind three bodies, one very shaken barkeep, and a lone silver bullet, placed squarely on the bartop. Members of the staff were already recruiting help to take care of the bodies. Gundham marched to the counter.

"What happened?"

The barkeep looked bewildered. "It doesn't make any sense. Why would she… here…?"

Gundham slammed a hand on the counter. "Get ahold of yourself, man! What happened here?"

"It- it was Sonia Nevermind. From the wanted posters. She stepped in and pulled out a gun. She shot somebody and then said to keep still and give her all the money I had. Two drunk guys tried to stop her, but…" His eyes drifted to where the three bodies were lying side by side, covered by white sheets.

"Then," Gundham prompted.

"Then… I gave her the money and she bailed."

"Did you see the way she went?"

"I wasn't paying attention! How exactly was I supposed to notice something like that right after a girl threatened to shoot me?"

Gundham turned to face the rest of the building. "Did anyone see where the shooter went? Surely someone saw." He was met with silence and blank stares. With a frustrated sigh, he turned back to the barkeep, who was mumbling to himself again.

"Oh man, my boss is seriously gonna kill me. What am I gonna do?"

"Barkeep, what is your name?"

He jumped slightly, but answered, "Kazuichi Soda. Why?"

Gundham leaned forward over the counter and stared him down. "Kazuichi Soda, are you absolutely sure the person you saw was Sonia Nevermind?"

"Of course I'm sure! I worked with her for years before I moved here, and her face is plastered all over town!"

"What was that just now?" Gundham felt as though he had just made a major breakthrough. "You used to work with her?"

"Yeah, way before she went all bullet-crazy," he stammered.

"Why did you not come to the sheriff department before?" Kazuichi recoiled from the thinly masked frustration in his voice.

"I didn't think anyone would believe me! I thought you guys would get false reports all the time so…"

"This is a very serious matter, Kazuichi Soda," Gundham said, stepping back from the counter. "But I will forgive you at the moment. I need you to help me track down Sonia."

"M-me? Why me?"

"You could have vital information about her that we can use to capture her once and for all."

"Can't you find someone else who used to know her?"

"There's no time for that! We must act now, before it's too late." Kazuichi opened his mouth to protest again, but had nothing more to say. "Meet me at the inn at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. I'll be at the table closest to the door."

Gundham walked away before Kazuichi could protest. After cleaning up the incident at the saloon, he returned to the sheriff's department. He had not been able to gain any more useful information from the people there, but he felt determined. For the first time in over a week, he had a solid lead. For the first time in over a week, he had hope.


End file.
